Zach McAllister Recalled by Cleveland Indians

Leon Halip/Getty ImagesZach McAllister in his 2011 outing against the Detroit Tigers.

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After the passing of this season's new collective bargaining agreement, teams can expand their roster one extra player for doubleheaders like the Cleveland Indians will be playing today.

The Indians took advantage of that new rule today by recalling Zach McAllister from Triple-A Columbus. McAllister will be the starting pitcher for the first half of the doubleheader.

The 6'6", 240-pound righty has posted a 3-1 record with a 2.82 ERA in six starts.

The 24-year-old was drafted by the New York Yankees in the third round of the 2006 MLB draft out of high school. McAllister found his way to Cleveland in a deal that sent Austin Kearns to the Yankees for a player to be named later. McAllister was that player.

In 2011, McAllister was rated as the Indians' 31st-best prospect, but has jumped up to the No. 13 ranking, according to Indians Prospect Insider. The jump in ranking is likely attributed to most of the Indians' original farm-system talent either being traded or brought up to the big-league team.

Manager Manny Acta is excited to see what the young McAllister is able to do in the big leagues. “He’s thrown the ball well," Acta told the Chronicle-Telegram. "His last outing was very good.”

McAllister had a cup of coffee in the bigs last season toward the end of the year and is very excited for the opportunity to come back.

“It was exciting. I was able to have a lot of family and friends come, ” McAllister said of his time with the Indians, according to sportstimeohio.com. “I didn’t really expect to get too many tickets, so it was all on them and it was a good experience to have all of them there and support me and have my back.”

McAllister will likely not last long in this appearance in the bigs unless he has a stellar outing to impress Acta, but the prospects of minor leaguers coming up for spot starts is exciting nonetheless.